On holiday, we all say, ‘Do I need to take a jacket out?’ or ‘should I take an umbrella?’ as you don’t always know what the weather is like, so the worst that can happen is getting a little wet, so no harm done, right?
But when you’re on holiday, the last thing you should say is ‘Should we have taken out travel insurance?’, with the answer being ‘No, we won’t need it’.
In 2018, over 22% of British holidaymakers didn’t take out travel insurance for their trip, so if they needed medical assistance, lost their luggage or had a delayed flight, they would be unable to make a successful claim and face serious financial consequences.
We know that when you take out a travel insurance policy, the last thing you think you’ll have to do is make a claim, as it means that something has gone wrong on your holiday. Fortunately for PayingTooMuch.com customer Steph, she and her husband Paul were in the 78 percentile of holidaymakers who took out travel insurance for their trip to Cape Verde last year and was relieved that she did.
Steph said: “We took out travel insurance through PayingTooMuch.com and in the 25 years we have been going on holiday together, we have never needed to make a claim. But we have always ensured that we have the right cover, no matter where we go, and thank goodness we did. I find it worrying to hear that so many people go away without travel insurance”
Four days into their holiday, Steph and Paul were heading off to breakfast in their hotel when things took a turn for the worst. Paul slipped on the wet lobby floor, no visible cleaning signs were present, and Paul seriously injured his knee.
He was visited by the hotel doctor who misdiagnosed his injury as just a sprain and gave him insufficient treatment, telling him that he should seek additional assistance when he returned to the UK, if it got worse.
Steph added: “Paul was in a lot of discomfort for the rest of the holiday. As he needed his leg to be straight, we decided that the he would need additional legroom on the flight home. When we got back to the UK, the hospital found that Paul would need surgery to fix ligament damage and would need to be off work for some time to be able recover.
All-in-all the service we received in Cape Verde with local medical assistance wasn’t ideal, but I am so glad we took out the policy. Things could have been much more severe, and we would have been left seriously out of pocket.
We successfully claimed back for the medical assistance in Cape Verde as well as the cost of extra legroom on the flight home. The claim process was very simple and we were pleased that we had the support when we got back to the UK. For those who don’t buy travel insurance for their holiday, please reconsider!”
Paul and Steph are currently seeking damages and compensation from the Hotel, but as they kept a noted diary of everything that happened throughout their stay and made a successful insurance claim, they are hopeful that they will receive a pay-out. The case continues.
Contact our team today on 01243 784 000 for a suitable and competitive quote. We are here to find our customers the best policy for their trip, adding confidence along the way.
